Interconnection of integrated circuits to other circuit boards, cables or electronic devices is known in the art. Such interconnections typically have not been difficult to form, especially when the signal line densities have been relatively low, and when the circuit switching speeds (also referred to as edge rates or signal rise times) have been slow when compared to the length of time required for a signal to propagate through a conductor in the interconnect or in the printed circuit board. As user requirements grow more demanding with respect to both interconnect sizes and circuit switching speeds, the design and manufacture of interconnects that can perform satisfactorily in terms of both physical size and electrical performance have grown more difficult.
Connectors have been developed to provide the necessary impedance control for high speed circuits, i.e., circuits with a transmission frequency of at least 5 GHz. Although many of these connectors are useful, there is still a need in the art for connector designs having increased signal line densities with closely controlled electrical characteristics to achieve satisfactory control of the signal integrity.